House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2015, with 64% of the vote.
Foreign Affairs November 5th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Arar was tortured and jailed for a year. He is entitled to know who gave the U.S. authorities a copy of his lease from Ottawa in 1997.
The Solicitor General must know how that copy of the lease got to the United States authorities. Will he tell us who gave it to the Americans?
Foreign Affairs November 5th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, the Solicitor General repeatedly said in this House that the RCMP was not involved with the decision to deport Maher Arar.
On the contrary, it appears that the single piece of evidence that caused Mr. Arar to be jailed and tortured for a year is a copy of a 1997 lease from Ottawa provided by a Canadian agency.
If it was not the RCMP that was involved in supplying this document, which agency was it?
Softwood Lumber November 5th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, the recent proposal by the U.S. lumber lobby is being turned down flatly by many members of the softwood lumber industry in Canada.
The Alberta Softwood Lumber Trade Council says there is no basis for continuing discussions. Atlantic Canada, sawmills in Ontario and the Canadian Lumber Remanufacturers Alliance are all against it.
Only after the minister has formal discussions with the entire industry should he continue with negotiations with a position that reflects all of Canada, not just one region or one province.
Yesterday the Minister for International Trade assured me that the Government of Canada would not move forward unless the Atlantic Canadian industry was comfortable with any proposal.
The current U.S. proposal eliminates the hard fought Atlantic Canadian exemption and does not acknowledge the plight of the lumber remanufacturers in Canada.
We will be holding the minister to his word that no agreement will go forward until there is a comfort level as promised.
International Aid October 29th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, last Friday in Madrid, Spain, the Minister for International Trade made an absolute commitment to provide $300 million to the people of Iraq for reconstruction. Already this week, there are murmurings that the government is going to renege on this offer.
Will the government confirm today that it will honour this commitment made only days ago to help the people of Iraq?
Bovine Beauty October 20th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, even though the Government of Canada has been slow to respond to hurricane Juan, BMO Nesbitt Burns in Halifax acted quickly to develop a fundraiser to assist farmers devastated by this terrible storm.
Called “Project Bovine Beauty”, this fundraiser will accept donations at several levels and, in return, the cows themselves will provide an autographed photograph and a tax receipt. Some of the categories of contribution include maidens of the milking parlour, ladies in waiting, working girls at their best, and queen of the herd.
Co-sponsors of Project Bovine Beauty include the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture, the Rotary Club of Halifax Northwest, and Ron Ford, at the printer.
Contributions can be made at any BMO Nesbitt Burns office, or people can check out the BMO Nesbitt Burns website for details. All funds go to farmers and their families, who have lost so much.
I wish to say congratulations to BMO.
Foreign Affairs October 9th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, being interrogated and in jail is not in transit.
The Syrians confirmed yesterday that Mr. Arar was in jail and not in transit at all. Now that we know Mr. Arar was in Jordan, where was he in Jordan? Who had him in custody while he was in Jordan? Did the minister ever ask any of these questions?
Foreign Affairs October 9th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, I just received a letter from the Minister of Foreign Affairs that says that Maher Arar was only in Jordan while he was “in transit” on his way to Syria.
The Syrians confirmed yesterday that he was not in transit but he was incarcerated and being interrogated while he was in Jordan.
Why would the Minister of Foreign Affairs tell me that this Canadian was in transit when he was really in jail and being questioned?
Foreign Affairs October 8th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, with all due respect to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, that was not the question. The question was, did Colin Powell indicate to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, in a discussion with him, that information that came from Canadian sources resulted in Mr. Arar's incarceration for a year in Syria?
Foreign Affairs October 7th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, the fact is that the Solicitor General is very selective in what he will release and what he will not release, which is operational details.
He has said that the RCMP was not involved in the decision, which was an operational detail, but he will not release other information that we want.
The fact is that every person in that committee hearing today and every Canadian now know that information that came from Canadian authorities resulted in the incarceration of Maher Arar in Syria for a year.
Will the Minister clear the air, clear his reputation and call for a public inquiry now?
Foreign Affairs October 7th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, the wife of Maher Arar recently made public that the RCMP came to their home in January 2002 asking to interview Mr. Arar.
Will the Solicitor General confirm what the Arars have already made public?